(REC)²

Not as cohesive or frightening, as the first REC (which is one of my favorite modern horror movies), but still a tense and thrilling horror ride, more often than not. This is a direct continuation of the original, and happens in and around the same apartment building on the same night. 

REC 2 takes the supernatural elements of the first movie and further explores them, which sets it apart from some similar zombie-type films. No complaints from me there, I enjoyed the expansion of the overall mythos and the added backstory/explanation for some of the people and events of the first film. On the negative side, I did find the new characters introduced in this one to be almost universally unlikable and annoying. Did that ruin the movie? No, but I definitely cared about the well-being and survival of these people less than those that came before. There's also a slight feeling of repetition that comes with using the same location again, but that's understandable considering the direct plot continuance.  

REC 2 is basically more of the same, so if you enjoyed the first, there's no real reason why you shouldn't see this. It's not quite up to the same quality, but it's worth checking out to see the interesting direction the story goes in.

Getting to the main point of my LOVE and HATE that I have for rec, I think it was said best from a previous review that the main difference between these two movies....and this may be a semi spoiler behind the infection...is that the first one is more of a scientific infection while the second film is more of a religious infection. So with that said, I will write a summary of the film as well as two small reviews. One for die hard zombie fans and one for horror fans.

First, the summary of the movie as a whole. The second film begins exactly where the other one left off. A small SWAT team enters the building with another QUARANTINE type doctor and are asked to document everything. The camera work goes from one camera to numerous cameras such as another video camera and mini cams put on the SWAT member's helmets. I felt this was really cool giving us numerous shots and cuts without taking away from the first person view. In the middle of the film, we're introduced to a trio of teens who find their way into the building with a camera of their own. And then, as the first film, the group must fight to stay alive.

Second, the review for Zombie fans of the first film….If you're a zombie fan, you have to like the mass hysteria of the unknown, and that's something that the first film presents to us. What seems like a routine call at an apartment building turns out to be one of the first responses to an infection outbreak. The first film satisfies these rules of infection, aggressive attacks, and not knowing what exactly is going on to the T. The second film is a slap in the face to us zombie fans because it takes away from a disease that turns us into homicidal maniacs with the hunger for flesh, and changes it into possessed puppets of a demonic force. The infection turns out to be in fact demons traveling through people by way of bites. Possessed people can talk, are scared of the cross, can change voices and walk on walls. But they're not zombies. They're not infected with rage. They're not infected with mutated rabies . And again, this is truly a slap in the face for zombie fans. We don't go and see Vampire part 2, only to find out they're really mummies. And we don't see werewolf part 2 only to find out they're really vampires. This change of infection to possession may ruin the movie for some of us zombie fans and therefore, turn out to be a crappy sequel with a few scares. 4/10

Third, the review for Rec and horror fans…..If you're not a DIE HARD zombie fan, and loved the first one as a good horror movie, this film may be seen as a pretty cool sequel. The character development is no where near as good as the first film, but it's still pretty good. Right away, the scares are there. The power has gone out from the first film, so this time around, our characters are left in the dark, adding an edge to everyone's already big fear. The infection's back story….and again, semi spoiler for it's origins….is not in fact an infection, but possession. It's not often that possession doesn't look cheesy and funny thanks to spoof movies on the exorcists. These possessed people look scary as hell and the way they speak really scared me. On one of the first jump scenes, I screamed. Movies don't usually get me to scream so there you go. The movie is a very good follow up to an instant classic of a film. And I'm sure horror fans of Rec would definitely fall in love with it's sequel. 6/10

The first Rec was one of the better horror films i had seen in recent years and because of that success it's no surprise that it spurned a sequel so soon. And like most sequels , this turned out to be a bitter disappointment.

This film carries on straight after the first. The virus ( or so it seams) is still in the building and this time a special ops team and a specialist go in to stop it in it's tracks. Obviously then things then turn really ugly.

I found Rec 2 a bit of a mess. It's extremely loud and at times disorientating with the speed camera work. The members of the Swat team shout constantly and they make some stupid decisions and it's as if they have left their brains at the door and if you are thinking of watching this i suggest you do to.

It does have a couple of scary moments but not nearly enough for my liking.

This following packs a sinister and horrifying atmosphere by means of shaky camera and videotape as well as the first part . The scary tale deals with the medical Dr. Owen (Mellor) who leads a GEO team inside the quarantined building located in Barcelona , in which communication means have been cut-off and police agents are not relaying information to those closed inside. They are attacked by the zombie-like creatures and Dr. Owen locks a zombie inside a room utilizing a crucifix. Owen wants to obtain a blood sample from the girl Medeiros to develop an antidote . Owen and his cameraman occupying to spend themselves the night against the zombies . There , they find residents already in the scenario have been possessed by strange demoniac forces . After that , three adolescents go into the building and are brutally attacked by psycho people ; they soon learn that people living in the building has been infected by something unknown. They attempt the getaway but they only encounter that have been sealed off. But Dr Owen is actually a priest who is sent by the Vatican to save the mankind , he discloses a patient possessed by the evil and by means of exorcisms he tries to avoid the bloody attacks . Later on , they meet the TV journalist named Angela Vidal(Manuela Velasco) .

This sequel to one of the highest earning horror movies of the last years titled ¨Rec¨ is realized in similar premise to original that is remade by an American adaptation, titled ¨Quarantine¨ directed by John Erick with Jennifer Carpenter, Jay Hernandez and Steve Harris . It's a solid movie , a terror story plenty of suspense, restless horror, and in documentary style. Film itself takes place from point of sight from cameraman. The flesh-eating zombies appearance deliver the goods plenty of screams, shocks and tension .The horror moments are compactly made and fast moving . It packs tension, shocks, thrills,chills and lots of gore and blood , but the original is far superior . Well worth seeing if you like shaky cameras, such us ¨Blair witch project¨, ¨28 Days/Weeks¨ and ¨Cloverfield¨ . The picture produced by Julio Fernandez (Filmax Productions) is well directed by Jaume Balaguero (Fragiles, Darkness, Nameless) and Paco Plaza (Romasanta, Second name), two magnificent experts on terror genre . Both of whom are directing the third part (in pre-production) titled ¨Rec, Genesis¨ with similar crew , actors(Manuela Velasco) and director of photography(Pablo Rosso). Rating : 6'5 , passable following that appeal to horror fans .

I am huge fan of the original horror film "REC," which of course inspired the American remake "Quarantine." So of course, once I heard that they were making the sequel I was up for it completely. The first film still scares me to this day, even though I've watched it several times. While I'm not sure I could have the same experience with REC 2, the movie is still a great horror film.

REC 2 starts almost immediately after the events that took place in the first film, and follows members of the S.W.A.T. team going to the apartment complex from the first film. Equipped with video cameras, they go in to find any remaining characters, and find the antidote to the virus that is spreading. We also follow a group of teenagers who end up finding their way in too. We see both vantage points, including the horror that both teams face.

The way this film is shot is breathtaking. In the first film, we had only one perspective from a TV camera. In this film, the S.W.A.T. team uses cameras that can link to mini cameras so that when one of the characters is on his own we can see what's going on. Some may feel this doesn't keep the realism, but I feel it does. Law-enforcement men take cameras with them all the time, and if you were a kid going into the apartment to see what's going on, naturally you would have a camera. In terms of a technical achievement, REC 2 definitely brings it up a level.

In the last film, what this virus may be is merely hinted at. In here, the directors move more into the mythology they created and expand it. We learn, without giving too much away, that the virus is much more than what we thought it was, something that leads back to the Vatican and religion in general.

While I wouldn't say the second film is as scary as the first, it still carries the creepy atmosphere set up in the first REC. There are many scenes were you feel trapped and you can't get out, and not knowing what's gonna happen next.

I was very pleased that they brought back Angela Vidal (the main character) for the second film. I felt that the actress did well, and the directors brought her character to the right point, which leads into my next topic: The ending. I was wondering how the film's climax would be and if it would top the first film's ending, which goes down as one of the most frightening things I've ever seen. The answer is yes, it does go in the right direction, shocks you, and sets you up for the third film.

The biggest problem that I can say about REC 2 is that while characters in the first film were well developed and memorable, you don't get that with these new characters. Sure we fear for them, sure they're not bad characters at all. But none of them really made me think about them afterward, and the only character that was memorable was Angela Vidal, who was in the first film.

It felt a little too shaky at times for me. While it does keep the film tense especially in it's more obscure moments, I really wished the camera could stop and calm down at a few points.

While REC 2 may not be as incredible as the first, it still takes things that were done well in the first film and makes them better. So if you liked the first movie and you're hyped for the second, you shouldn't be disappointed.